Hustle and Snow Photography Exhibit: Interviews with the Photographers

Last night on Friday November 16, a photo exhibit featuring photos by Andy Wright, Stan Evans, Rob Mathis, and Ethan Fortier opened up at the Circle Lounge in down town Salt Lake City. The bar was packed with people and it was a really good time. J2, Justin Benne, and DJ Knuckles spun records all night. The exhibit runs until January 31, so if you are going to be in Salt Lake during that time, I highly suggest checking it out. A big shout out goes out to the Circle Lounge for hosting the exhibit, and also to Holden, Nitro, Celtek, Coal, Milosport, and Technine for sponsoring the event.

60 seconds with Stan Evans:

Hondo: Why did you choose to showcase more landscape and non-snowboard photos in this exhibit?
Stan: Basically the snowboard photos were the substance of the show, but then the landscapes were kind of the peripheral of what snowboarders brought to me. Snowboarders have brought me around the world. Snowboarding has brought me the most joyous days of my life, and also the most painful days of my life, and allowed me to see a lot of wonderful things. That’s kind of why snowboarding is the focus but its also the peripheral because it has brought me all these other things that people have not also seen.

Hondo: What has been your favorite year taking photos?
Stan: My favorite year so far has been the year we filmed Pop with Justin Hoystneck. It was that year that Travis, Romain, and Nicolas were just going off. Those guys were pushing the sport of snowboarding to the gnarliest level that I have ever seen it, to the point of life and death style. Basically every day was firsts. One day Travis was doing a 1080, the next day Chads gap, then the next day Rice is in Alaska doing a gnarly line I’m filming. It’s like a constant adrenaline of just crazy things going on. It’s changed the way that I saw things possible with snowboarding.

Hondo: Where do you see snowboarding going in the future?
Stan: More and more now I am looking at snowboarding like a lifestyle, a conscious lifestyle.

60 seconds with Andy Wright:

Hondo: How would you describe your photo style?
Andy: I would describe it as loose.

Hondo: Why did you choose the photos that you put on the wall tonight?
Andy: Well it was hard, there were thousands of photos to pick from but these were the ones that I was stoked on this week. You know, there are like some that you will always pick, flavor of the week I guess.

Hondo: Who are your favorite people to shoot with?
Andy: Mikey Leblanc, Darrell Mathes, and Mark Frank Montoya.

60 seconds with Rob Mathis:

Hondo: You have been in the snowboard photography game for a long time now, how have you seen it change throughout the years?
Rob: The level that we are at now is crazy. Before we would just shoot at resorts and shoot off a cliff, didn’t matter if you landed or not. These days it’s to the point where we spend the whole year chasing snow. We go to cities without any hills, urban stuff. Its changed a lot, but now it’s a lot more versatile, its a lot more fun to shoot these days.

Hondo: Do you have any tips for up and coming photographers?
Rob: Shoot your local shop guys. Hook up with them now, because they're going to be the next JP Walkers and Jeremy Jones. Shoot with them because that way you learn, and they learn at the same time.

60 seconds with E-stone:

Hondo: what is your favorite photo that you put up in this collection?
E: The one of my dogs sticking their head out of the window. Not a snowboard photo, but still my favorite.

H: What’s your favorite photo out of anyone on the wall tonight?
E: At first glace I have to say its one of Andy’s photos. Its one of Mikey Leblanc, and Scotty Whitlake. It’s a photo of Whitlake following Mikey. That one really gets me stoked to snowboard.

H: What has been your favorite season shooting so far?
E: Wow that’s a tough one man, but I am going to say 2007 because we got to go to Russia, and a bunch of other cool places. But also 2005, I got to go to Japan with MFM and that was really cool too. Every season brings exciting things.